Robert W. Baird Cuts Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $174.00

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) had its target price lowered by Robert W. Baird from $176.00 to $174.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the restaurant operator’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 23.13% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 target price (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.24.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $141.32 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $150.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.71. Yum! Brands has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $816,392.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 157,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,353,416.32. This trade represents a 3.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $793,300.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 436.5% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.